Carousel
by Mugglewriter14
Summary: My life seemed to be like a Carousel, going up and down and never ending. I often felt like I was the only one along for the ride, until someone, he joined me and made riding my Carousel of life an adventure that was worth having... My name is Nora James and this is my adventure... SethXOC
1. Introductions

My name is Nora James. I am 17 years old. I will be entering my senior year of High School this fall. I am 5 foot two. It is not the tallest height, that I could be, but at least I am not that short. I have long golden blonde hair that goes down my back. I have Green Hazel eyes that are framed by my long dark eyelashes. Most people would think with that description of me that I would be popular or sporty or something like that. Nope, Nora James is none of those things. In fact she is, I am, a bookworm. I have read more books than I can count and have acquired more books than I can count, something that I am very proud of. Actually that means that most days when there is no school, I am most likely to be found I am my room or in a cozy corner of a room reading a book. Yep, my life is so adventurous and out there I just cannot believe it.

I have what some people would consider a large family. I have a mom (Cameron), a dad (Greg), an older brother (Louis), a younger sister (Hattie), and a younger brother (Ben), and if you include them as a member of the family, a bulldog named Marcus.

My mother and I share the same hair color and that s about it, compared to my mom I am short. She stands at 5 foot six. She tans where on the other hand I burn. She has striking blue eyes that I just did not inherit. She is also really outgoing and sporty. Something I am just not. Before she settled down and became a stay at home mom she was a journalist. Not to be bragging, but she was a damn good journalist. She at one point was getting so many job offers that she basically had her own pick at where she would work and for what salary. Yep, my mom had talent, but she put that on hold for us kids. She does not say, or show, it but I can tell that she gave up a lot in order to raise my siblings and me.

My dad is another story. My dad is a genius; let me start by saying that. He grew up in Chicago. Where he was born and raised. He grew up with a normal life. Not the sportiest guy, a thing that I got from him. However, when it came time for him to apply to colleges it was not difficult for him at all. He got into Harvard, no problem at all. He got into their law school and by the time he was thirty, he was a partner at one of the largest law firms in Chicago. Yep, life was easy for him. My dad was not too tall. That is where I got it from apparently. He had short brown hair that was starting to go grey. He had dark brown eyes, but if you are wondering my eyes where the same as his mother's eyes. He stood at 5 foot eight. My dad often was a fun person. He liked to joke and he always had a new cheesy line for something that was going on. He always made an effort to be there at home, even when work was being demanding. He is definitely an amazing father.

My older brother Louis is every good quality of my parents meshed together. Mr. Perfect was the captain/quarterback of the high school varsity team. While doing that he also did Baseball in the spring and other sports just for fun on the side. He also was valedictorian and was president of the school's debate team. He was tan, tall (5 foot eleven) and he had dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He was every girl's dream. That meant that there were several times where my so called friends where only my friends so that they could get with him so to speak. He did not look at a single girl though. From the moment he was born, he was determined to become a Politian, eventually winning his ultimate title as President of the United States of America. This meant that any time he had he was studying and working to reach his dream. No goofing, girls, or games allowed. Strict right?

My sister, Hattie was another story. She had the same blond hair as me. But she had the same eyes and body type as our mother. She did have my proneness to burns. Although, she already was taller, her standing at f foot five and me of course at five two, she was still my younger sister, a person that I wanted to protect. However, because she was in High School and she did not want me to overshadow her, I got it, older sister that is over protective is un-cool. Hattie was interesting though, because Hattie wanted to be a fashion designer or columnist at a magazine. She was so focused on it that four years ago, on her tenth birthday, my parents got her, her first sewing machine. She taught herself how to sew within three months of getting her machine. Within a year she was making most of her clothing, even doing a few pieces of mine, and she is good. Let me be the first to tell you that in twelve years Hattie James is going to be a house hold high end fashion name like; GUCCI, Prada, Coach, Michael Kors, etc.

My little brother Benny, however, was the most interesting person in my life. He was nine years old, and he was already showing signs of my father's smarts. However, she was extremely devious. We had a bargain, as long as I hung out with him and helped him with his homework when he needed it, he would not antagonize me. A pretty good deal. But that was not what mattered, what mattered is that he was the best little brother ever. He made me laugh and we had competitions. He was so much fun. The other thing was that he was obsessed with becoming a superhero when he grew up, like Captain America, or Iron Man. What is funny is that he was convinced that first, they where real, and second that he would be one of them someday. Now no one in the family told him that this was an improbability, ever, we knew that he will eventually grow out of it. Then, in time, he would figure out what he really wanted to do with his life. Most likely, he would become a lawyer, like our dad, although, unlike our dad, Benny would probably go into the criminal law branch of the profession versus the business deals end.

My family was an interesting bunch, we where close but not close at the same time. We drove each other crazy, yet we were best friends. I know that they will always be there for me, and I for them. Overall, we are a typical family. Our story seems to be cookie cutter, but that is not what happened. Our story changed and became different all because of one weird twist of fate that had us moving all the way to La Push, Washington. One little twist that changed my life and dreams forever, and that twist was Seth Clearwater…

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	2. Uprooting

**I do not own any of the Twilight Characters, just the ones that I created in this story. Hope that you all enjoy and comment to your heart's content :)**

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_**UPROOTING**_

I moved to the outskirts of La Push the summer before my senior year of High School. My dad had gotten a good offer from the law firm that he worked at to go set up shop in a little off the map town in Washington called Forks. It was something about the firm starting a new branch up there, where it was close enough to Seattle and Port Angeles that they, big businesses and or corporations, would be able to do business with the firm. However, because the small branch would be set up in Forks it meant that there would be a larger sense of privacy for the corporations doing business with my dad.

To me that did not make a lot of sense, but hey, that is how my dad explained it, and it does not hurt that his law firm not only offered to pay for all moving costs but also offered to build us a modern luxury cabin built to all of my family's wants and needs. So not so bad at all in my opinion, I mean who gets the offer from their job to get a raise and a house all as a part of a promotion. This also meant that I needed my room to have all of the am amenities. This meant a walk in closet, a reading area, a balcony with a view, large glass windows and doors opening to the balcony, and a wall of bookshelves to house my "little" collection of books. My dream room concisely.

Therefore, in that respect I was not complaining about the move, but being born and raised in Chicago meant that I had grown attached to my little Midwest Jewel. Moving meant that not only would I be leaving all of my friends and family behind, but I would also be leaving my favorite places behind as well. Places such as: the best bookstore in the world, my favorite bakery, my favorite movie theater, my favorite restaurant, and my favorite Caribou Coffee joint (i.e. the best place to get a mocha and do homework at the same time). Moving meant leaving the only home I ever knew. Everything I knew would be left behind. Moreover, it was scary. It was all changing. Moreover, even though we, my family, where getting an amazing new house and a fresh slate it would mean that we were leaving behind all of the things we loved.

I am not going to lie when I say that it was not only hard on me but also on the family. My mom had moved around a lot as a kid. She had never felt really settled in a place before her parents packed up and moved her and her sisters halfway across the country. She had told my dad when they got married that she did not want to move her family around a lot. Nevertheless, this was too good of an offer for my dad to pass up. Therefore, after countless hours of discussion my parents concluded that the best decision was for my dad to take the offer.

Before I knew it I was packing up my room, I was saying goodbye to my friends, family, and favorite places, and I was boarding a plane. A private plane might I add. The company said that it was the least that they could do. Moreover, that plane was headed none other than Seattle, a new place, with new things that I had never experienced before. Just to add a tidbit of information, I had asked my dad why we were landing in Seattle and not an airport closer to Forks, yeah, I knew my geography, and guess what he said. He stated, "This is the closest airport to Forks. It takes several hours to get there from the airport." This meant that I would not only have to suffer on a plane, yes, I admit that I am a terrible flyer, for the better part of four hours, but I would also have to then deal with a couple hour drive to my new home. Yippee.

While on the plane, it was okay, except for my being nervous to fly and a complaining bulldog named Marcus that hated flying as well. The spoiled little puppy was adorable, except when you where in the car and when he, apparently, was flying as well. Finally, after the torturous flight, we landed, and we did not crash… Thank G-d! We had landed in our new state, at our new airport, in our new home. We walked to the rental car service and picked up our pre-ordered car, because ours would not be here in Washington with us for another week because they needed to be shipped on a certain kind of plane. We piled in, and we started on the last part of our journey.

Due to my exhaustion and a sleeping 9 year old brother, Benny, on my shoulder I decided to put in my headphones and listen to a medley of my favorite music: Birdy, Imagine Dragons, Florence and the Machine, the Heist, Walking the Moon, and the Great Gatsby Album. the other people currently asleep included my mom, dad, and naturally energetic 14 year old sister, Hattie. As I listened to my music I let my mind wander. To the things that I missed back home. My friends, my family, my favorite places, the guy I was secretly crushing on… I missed home. I looked to my brother Louis, who was driving, and I could tell he was concentrating, yes, but that he was also sad to be leaving his childhood home behind, and even though he was in college he still missed his home and being uprooted was probably going to be the hardest on him out of everyone in the family.

Finally, we made it to our new small, lazy, and quiet town of Forks Washington. My first thoughts where how cute it was, it was tiny and small, and had an old world feel to it. However, I also could not help but compare it to my old home. No Green line, no Metra, no Busses. Just pick-up trucks and old cars. No beautiful skyscrapers and famous architecture, just small old 2 story buildings that had paint peeling on them. No fancy restaurants, fine cuisine, and amazing coffee joints in sight, just a few run down family owned Diners. No loud traffic noises, there were not even that many stoplights to be honest. It was definitely different from what I was used to. At least I only had a year left until I could return to my beautiful Midwest, because in a year I would be attending my dream school, University of Wisconsin at Madison, where I would be studying elementary learning.

Before I knew it we had left the downtown area of Forks and where now surrounded by forest lined on either side of the road. Moreover, as our travelling destination came closer, I could not help but feel a sense of loss for the life I once had. I knew that I had left Chicago, but it was becoming clear that everything made me thing about Chicago. It was becoming clear that forgetting my old home would be a hard thing to forget…

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We pulled into our new driveway at around 1 a.m., which honestly was not so bad for the drive apparently. Just another new thing to get used to in my new life her in Forks. Although, because there were no people living in our house yet, obviously because we had not moved in yet, it meant that there were no lights on, on the driveway or on in the house. Also paired with the fact that we now lived in the woods and not in a brightly lit city it was a little harder to make out any features of our new home. That did not stop me from trying though. As I looked out of the tinted car window, with no success I heard my brother get out of the car.

My parents were up and gathering trash and other various items on the floor and seats of the car. My sister who was now up was gathering her pillow and getting Marcus to wake up and exit the car, and Louis being the good and responsible young adult he was, was unloading the trunk of the car with a few things we had brought on the plane personally with us.

"Nora?" I heard my mom call my name quietly. "Can you wake up Ben?"

She motioned to the sleeping nine year old on my shoulder. I looked down at him, still far away in dreamland were worries where nonexistent. I turned back to my mother, I nodded. She smiled and headed into the now lit house.

I looked at my brother and sighed. I hoped that waking him would not take too long. I might have been able to stay awake the whole car ride here even if I wasn't the one driving, but I still wanted, scratch that, needed my sleep. In the morning, I hoped to wake up and quickly unpack so I could spend the day doing what I do best, reading. And I know what you are thinking, the life of a book worm how uber-exciting.

"Benny?" *SNORE*

"Benny?" I nudged him. *SNORE*

After realizing that this was a battle that would not be won with diplomacy and niceties, so I did the only thing a good commander would do. I attacked, in other words I got up from my seat and moved. TIMBER and the little Benny fell down on the seat.

"Hey? What?" He was groggy.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey," I smiled down at him.

"Did you do that on purpose?" He looked at me and smiled.

"I do not know what you are talking about little brother." I turned on my heel and started to walk towards my new home.

"Hey! Wait for me!" he yelled from the car.

"Well, then," I turned to see him scrambling out of the car. "You better keep up with me, Race you to the House."

With that I started to run towards the house, laughing. I could hear my brother start to run behind me trying, and failing, to catch up to me. We were very competitive.

"Hey, that's not fair, you had a head start," he was running after me.

However, because of my flawless strategies, I got to the door first. I did my little victory dance. When I stopped I saw that he had joined my on the porch and was watching me with one eyebrow raised.

"You just won because you had a head start; I could beat you any time, any day, any place." He stated matter of factly. I put my arm around him as we began to walk into the house together.

"That's called smarts little bro, that's called smarts." He smiled as I said that.

We walked into the grand entrance of our new home, and I was now officially too tired to observe and scrutinize every aspect of our house. Something I would normally do if it was not for my exhaustion. I saw my parents waiting for us.

"Okay kids." My dad clapped his hands together. "Room assignments."

"Benny you are on the second floor down the hallway second door to the right," my mom said looking at my brother, and then she turned to me. "Nora, you are on the third floor, second door on the left."

"Now hoof it like a horse, and mosey on up to bed." He signaled to the stairs.

"Night mom," Benny ran from me and gave my mom a big goodnight hug.

"Night dad," he then did the same thing to my dad.

Benny then ran up the few first stairs, but he stopped.

"Nora are you coming or what?" I smiled.

"I'm coming, just wait a sec."

I turned to my parents, I could tell they were tired, but they were happy that the initial adjustment to the house was going so well.

"Night mom, night dad." I gave them a little wave and started to head up the stairs to join Ben in the search for our new rooms.

"Goodnight Nora." My mom smiled.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite." My dad stated with a smile.

"Come on lets go." My brother complained.

"Okay, okay." I put my hands up.

As we ascended the stairs, Benny, being the nine year old that he is clearly was trying to beat me at getting up the stairs faster. We got to the second floor where Ben gave me a quik hug and a quick goodnight hug before running to his new room. I smiled and chuckled a little. Then I turned to walk up to the third floor to my room. I finally reached the third floor. My feet dragging, and with sleep in my eyes I walked to my room. Without turning on the lights, I walked to the platform elevated canopy bed that I could just make out in the moon light. Without changing into my pajamas, I climbed onto the bed and I laid my head down on one of the softest pillows I had ever felt. With sleep in my eyes, I slowly drifted away to dreamland.


End file.
